Hartford Police Seize Weapons, Arrest 14

What began as a routine police response to a burglar alarm at a Hartford supermarket ended with the arrest of an armed group of people and the seizure of a weapons and ammunition cache early Monday.

Fourteen people were arrested on reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct charges near C-Town Supermarket at 1744 Park St. after police broke up what they said appeared to be a group in the midst of a gang-related plot. Eleven of those arrested were from Hartford and all were between 17 and 25 years old.

Police believe the people involved in the arrests Sunday night are "affiliated with gang activity," but officers did not specify any particular gang, said Lt. Louis Wolf. Police said they were not sure what the group was plotting outside the market.

"All I know is when I responded to the alarm, the police told me to `Get back,' " said Curtis Wilson, manager of C-Town.

As patrol officers searched the supermarket in response to a silent burglar alarm, they spotted several figures in the rear of the market's darkened parking lot passing handguns among themselves and communicating with others via portable radios.

One man was seen on the roof of the market carrying a rifle with a scope, police said.

After calling for backup, patrol officers and members of Operation Liberty -- the high-profile anti-gang effort by state and local police -- closed in on the group about 11:45 p.m. Sunday. A foot chase led police to a second-floor apartment at 1758 Park St.

At the apartment, police found guns, several portable radios and ammunition scattered on the floor and a couch in the apartment. Shortly after 1 a.m., they recovered a 9mm Beretta handgun with 15 rounds of ammunition, a loaded 9mm Smith & Wesson and 44 rounds of ammunition, a 20 gauge sawed-off shotgun with four rounds of ammunition and three portable radios, Wolf said.

As police secured the apartment and arrested most of the group inside, firefighters were called to assist police.

Firefighters boosted ladders up against nearby apartments, allowing police to search the rooftops for additional suspects or

weapons. Police found and arrested several other people hiding on adjacent rooftops and seized a .22-caliber rifle with scope and 18 rounds of ammunition, Wolf said.